THE TRUTH OF IT!

On my commute home from work yesterday evening CBC Radio re-ran a radio documentary by Chris Brookes about Blair and Pam Ghent.

It is a story of a Harbour Mille couple, Blair's 3,000 mile commute to the oil projects of Alberta, and the impact this has on their family. I thought this might help put the article I posted earlier from Southern Gazette into perspective. There is a very human side to this six and two rotation that is the only thing keeping much of the Burin Peninsula alive.

This past Christmas my sister in- law Michelle’s brother Hubert made the commute from north of Fort McMurray to St. John’s to spend Christmas Eve, Boxing Day and one other day with his wife and 8 year old daughter Emily. Although they reside in St. Lawrence, the extra travel would have robbed them of another 10 hours of family time so they celebrated the holidays at Mike's. This is the family dynamic for thousands of people from this province.

For those of you who view this page from away, or like me enjoy comfortable employment in the North Eastern Avalon, this documentary is an eye-opener...enjoy.

Harbor Mille is a small outport located just up the road from my hometown of St. Bernard’s in Fortune Bay.

LOOKING TO GREENER PASTURES

Over the past few weeks I have posted a fair amount about the impact of the electronics industry on the environment. Old computers and televisions are filling up landfills and polluting the environment. Rocketing fuel prices are making consumers weary about energy consumption. Government regulators are cracking down on toxic substances (like mercury) used in electronics and taking a closer look at the carbon pollution caused by the communications and electronics industry.

The largest consumer electronics show of its kind takes place next week in Las Vegas and it looks like the industry is starting to green up a little.

Wal-Mart Stores Inc — the world's most powerful retailer — is now asking suppliers to fill out a green practices survey before agreeing to restock products.

Dell, the biggest supplier of computers to the U.S. market, says it aims to become the world's greenest technology company. It is so far the only PC maker to offer free recycling of its computers without requiring new purchases.

Sony recently established a nationwide U.S. recycling program for consumer electronics, not just for its own products but for all electronics.

The Globe & Mail had a good look at the problems facing the industry and attempts to find greener pastures in yesterday's technology section.

GOOD-BYE NETSCAPE

My first computers were Commodores. I started with the Vic 20, graduated to a Commodore 64 (which I took to college in 1985), the Amiga 2000, Amiga 500 and last but not least the Amiga 1200 (an internal hard drive).

I was late to the PC scene; my first machine was a 486 and I picked it up around 1994. My first web browser was Netscape to which I remained loyal until the arrival of Mozilla’s Firefox.

I had pretty much forgotten all about Netscape and that flashing blue N until I read a story this week about the demise of the once mighty browser. I identify it with the start of the world wide web. You never wanted to be caught without an updated version. God forbid Tony Scott should have a higher version than me. It was the early days of net access but Netscape was king. It launched many a technology craze on the stock market. It seemed unstoppable.

It was also cool to refuse to jump on the Microsoft wagon and cave into Internet Explorer. I suppose it was inevitable that Netscape would be overwhelmed and relegated to the garbage bin of technology.

I look back at those simpler days of hacking, upgrades, 5 1/2 inch floppy disks and Avalon Computer Group meetings with fondness. So long Netscape, thanks for the memories.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY STEPHENVILLE CROSSING

The town of Stephenville Crossing turns 50 in 2008 and the town is planning a big party to celebrate. Town Manager Yvonne Young and Councilor Cynthia Downey are co-chairing the anniversary committee.

Having worked as a journalist and than political assistant in the Bay St. George area for most of the 1980’s and 1990’s I know a lot of good folks from the crossing and can only imagine that this will be one fun summer to visit old friends.

For more information check out the town's website.

NEW FERRY ON THE GULF RUN THIS SUMMER?

Federal Crown Corp Marine Atlantic has been scouring the oceans and seas for a charter ferry to replace the M.V Atlantic Freighter in 2008. As of today they have not met with any success.

The company is hoping to replace the Freighter with a larger vessel that can accommodate both commercial and passenger traffic, to create enhanced flexibility on the run between Port Aux Basques and North Sydney.

The clock is ticking on meeting that objective this year. Any new vessel would have to be modified to accommodate the run and meet Transport Canada Regulations.

The M.V. Atlantic Freighter has been the focus of asbestos concerns for Marine Atlantic workers. This fall current and former employees were sent for medical tests to determine if any one has been impacted. Asbestos was discovered on the ship in 1990 but was encapsulated, not removed. The union representing the workers says the non-stop motion of the ocean has stirred up the fibers and exposed workers to unacceptable risks.

The M.V. Atlantic Freighter was built in South Korea in 1978, and was put into service on the Gulf Crossing in the late 1980’s. I was working with CFGN in Port Aux Basques when she first arrived. If memory serves me correctly she was called the Stena Grecia in her first year of service before being purchased by Marine Atlantic.

IT WAS THE BEST OF TIMES

The Southern Gazette ran an insightful story this week on the the thriving economy in Marystown. Mayor Sam Synard admits that despite the lack of any major industrial work in the Burin Peninsula town this past year, things have never been better.

He credits the bustling malls, the thriving car, snowmobile and ATV dealerships and the real estate boom to Alberta’s need for skilled workers. “We’ve been so blessed here the year to have so many well-trained people who can simply pick up a phone, get on a plane and go almost anywhere in the world to work and make really good salaries.”

Synard says the local industrial complex should pick up speed this year with Ocean Choice International reopening the fish plant and encouraging opportunities at the shipyard.

This article provides a great bit of insight into the realities of the economic picture for folks living off the Avalon Peninsula.

THE FUTURE IS SO BRIGHT I NEED MY SHADES

The Christmas and New Year’s editions of the weekly Transcontinental Community Newspapers are normally full of filler and year end wrap-ups. This year the New Year’s editions are dominated by one big theme – Prosperity is at our door step and we need to prepare our workforce for the opportunities to come.

Aside from the myriad of editorials decreeing happy days are here to stay, two major stories seem to dominate the pages of most of these papers.

The first is a story by Laura Button that was splashed across the pages of most of the chains papers entitled, “Business buzz in St. John’s and beyond for 2008.” It comes out of an interview with outgoing St. John’s Board of Trade President Cathy Bennett. Here are a few excerpts:

“2007 has seen positive announcements regarding the provincial economy: Budget surpluses, the Atlantic Accord and reduction of the provincial debt, to name a few, have business owners preparing for the growth sure to come.

“In 2006 people were hopeful that something was going to happen,” said Ms. Bennett. “In 2007 they got a lot of clarity around what’s happening.”

Natural resources such as oil and gas, mineral mining, and wind power have a bright future, according to Ms. Bennett, but the business heading our way won’t come without challenges. Top on the list is the state of the labour market and the tall task of filling jobs to make the businesses

“We’re going to need people to drive the economic engine,” she commented.

The other article features a year end interview with Premier Williams entitled, “Province Turning Around: Premier not willing to settle for less” by Danette Dooley. The headline varies from paper to paper but the story remains the same. The opening paragraph sets the tone: “The province’s dramatic fiscal turn-around means money is now flowing into many projects.”

The article looks at the gains made in 2007 and explores the on-going dispute with the Harper Conservatives over their broken commitments on equalization and the Atlantic Accord.

This has to be encouraging for the thousands of migrant workers from this province who support their families and communities by making the journey to and from the Alberta oil patch every three weeks. Someday soon, very soon, have-not will be no more and every mother's son and daughter will be home.

At least from Clarenville east to St. John’s, it feels a lot more like reality than political rhetoric.

THE RACE IS ON, WELL JUST ABOUT

The Federal Liberals are preparing to call nominations in three hotly contested contests on the Avalon Peninsula. Provincial co-chair and former Tobin Chief of Staff Gerald Glavine has told prospective candidates to expect the calls to be made this upcoming week.

It remains to be seen if Gerry will borrow a page from his provincial pal Danny Dumeresque and hold a super nomination night with all three votes occurring on the same evening. If so I think it is fair to speculate that turnouts will be high and there will be attention paid to the process. The provincial affair turned out to be a dud and a fairly accurate barometer of just how poorly organized and candidate-deficient they were in the leadup to the great snore of last fall.

Expect Avalon to be the first one called. Former provincial co-chair Norm Whalen is facing off against Wanda Dawe and former provincial Liberal Party Executive Director Scott Andrews. It is a race that has the potential to upset the order of things.

What is known is that the various organizations are in a frenzy getting that last handful of memberships into Liberal headquarters before the dates are announced and the cut-offs are implemented. The phones are ringing and the facebook and e-mail boxes are filling up with last minute reminders to renew or join up.

It should be interesting. I am hoping for change over the confirmation of stagnant relics of the past!

ANOTHER CON JOB!

The Conservatives are out there conning you with your own money, again! Have you heard the radio ads or seen the newspaper ads that declare, “"The Government of Canada is ringing in the New Year with another tax cut. Starting January 1st, the GST will be reduced to five per cent, the second cut in less than two years.”

They direct you to the Government of Canada webpage which features a big picture of Harper and a headline that decrees “Conservative government fulfills commitment to reduce GST to 5 per cent.”

Did I mention that this is an election year. The ads and the webpage are not advance political ads paid for by the Conservative Party of Canada, but by you the taxpayer. This crass electioneering in the form of a national “pat yourself on the back” media campaign will cost tax payers $1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0. That’s right, ONE MILLION OF YOUR TAX DOLLARS, for the Conservatives to tell you how great they are.

This is the crowd who cut money for women's groups across Canada, who cut funding for environmental education programs and fisheries science and who shortchanged Newfoundlanders and Labradorians by BILLIONs of dollars with their new force-fed equalization program.

Perhaps someone should remind the Conservatives that the federal surplus comes as a result of the Chretien-Martin Liberal government’s excellent long term fiscal management of this nation from 1993 to 2006.

Do not be CONNED by this crowd. Imagine, 1 Million Dollars to tell you that your coffee is going to be a few pennies cheaper. Let's throw these bums out.

ORCS OR LIBERALS!

If it is good enough for Mr. T and Mini Me than it has to be fun! Every time I flicked on the TV this week I was bombarded by these commercials for World of Warcraft featuring Mr. T and Mini-me. I purchased the game for my Mac a while back and was waiting until some big winter storm to get immersed in this mammoth on-line world.

Than I saw Mr. T and Mini Me on TV. They reminded me that the game was sitting in a box next to my Mac. So here I sit, doing a six cd (why not a dvd?) install of a game that is going to cost me a monthly fee to participate.

I guess it comes down to this: join thousands of mighty heroes in an online world of myth, magic and limitless adventure, or join dozens of Liberals signing up members for the nomination in St. John's East in a real world of myth, false promises and limitless headaches! I think Warcraft will be much more rewarding!

YOU REAP WHAT YOU SOW

Seems to be the season to define the life and contribution of slain Pakistani Benazir Bhutto. CBC Radio ran an item this morning on her legacy, in particular her contribution to feminism in her home country. The reviews were not good.

William Dalrymple offers up his opinion in today's New York Times. It is a none-to0-flattering depiction of a leader who failed to deliver on democracy and who, if not by design than by inaction made the world a lot less safe. He argues her legacy is the Taliban, enhanced Muslim extremism and the insurgency in Kashmir that has brought India and Pakistan to the brink of nuclear war.

FRIDAY IS GAME NIGHT..YIPPIE!

Bring on the red wine, gin and cranberry juice, Georgetown Bakery bread, humus, some black olives and let the game begin.

Three new games in a week. Ken is going to teach us how to play Puerto Rico tonight. He learned to play last month while visiting friends in Waterloo. This is a game that my mom gave me for Christmas last year and we have not had the time or opportunity to play.

It is a 3 – 5 player game. Players are plantation owners in Puerto Rico in the days when ships had sails. Growing up to five different kind of crops - corn, indigo, coffee, sugar and tobacco - they must try to run their business more efficiently than their close competitors, growing crops and storing them efficiently, developing San Juan with useful buildings, deploying their colonists to best effect, selling crops at the right time, and most importantly, shipping their goods back to Europe (I think we need to include more export Newfoundland Screech) for maximum benefit.

It has won a slew of gaming awards and sounds entertaining. I’ll post a review early next week.

If you're in the area pop by. You're welcome to join in.

We pulled the wrapper off our latest Ticket To Ride add-on, Switzerland! You need the original game for the ticket cards and the train pieces. It is designed for only three players which was a bit of a letdown. The map has several new features. Locomotive cards are used exclusively for tunnels, which work the same as they do in Ticket Europe. Also, players only get to use 40 of the 45 trains and there are two types of end points for routes: cities and countries.

The totally new map and the slightly variant game play provide some fresh variety to a game that never gets stale for me. The new game play allows for quick games, good strategy and lots of tension. I just wish the map was a little larger to facilitate a fourth player.

My game guy down at Downtown Comics tells me that he is surprised by Ticket's lack of appeal here. His supplier told him the game was very popular so he ordered a bunch of copies but they are slow movers. I am surprised because it is such a good game.

THE EMPIRE BACKS DOWN

Smoke and mirrors, or has the Prime Minster reeled maverick federal Conservative Cabinet Minister Loyola Hearn in following his holiday Williams bashing tour. Has Hearn been scolded and told to tone down the rhetoric, that his abrasive style is going to derail any chance of a settlement between the local Progressive Conservatives and the Federal Conservatives? It is more likely that the plan was to have Hearn play the bad cop for his master in Ottawa while the Prime Minister gets to play good cop.

Another theory is that Hearn overestimated the potential fractures in the local Progressive Conservative Party. Folks are just not prepared to throw themselves on a cross for Hearn and Harper while the Premier enjoys so much political and popular support. In other words some folks will bitch, complain and grumble in the security of their own office but that is about it. Hearn's army of spies and cranky discards cannot find a beachhead for their assault on fortress Williams. In other words Hearn is a bluff!

Then there is the theory that Hearn is backing down because he was influenced by the provincial Liberal Opposition Leader's public concerns about the impact this federal-provincial spat is having on the ability of the two levels of government to work together for the betterment of the province. Hearn probably heard that story while delivering more goodies for Santa Ottawa and experienced a rush of guilty feelings. Thanks Yvonne. Who said the opposition is ineffective?

Conservatives LOVE GLOBAL WARMING

Following my last post on consumerism and my environmental foot print, I thought I should look into how I as an individual can cut down on the amount of garbage produced by my household. I googled "One Tonne Challenge" only to find out that the Conservative government of Harper and Hearn had brought the program to a screeching halt. It is true - they treated this great Liberal initiative with the same disdain they have shown for the Kyoto Accord, and shelved it.

Was it cut because the Conservatives hold comedian Rick Mercer in disdain (been there, got the settlement to prove it) or is it because being environmentally intelligent threatens excessive consumerism and corporate profits. Perhaps it is a lot of both.

Either way, we can continue to promote and follow the process of reducing our own greenhouse gas emissions and show individual leadership despite the fact that our federal government seems to have forced the one tonne challenge movement underground.

While I am talking about challenges, surely there is some green corporation that would like to sponsor this program and save it from the trash bin of Consevative ideology!

A FACTOR OF 32

The size of my environmental footprint came sharply into focus as I was taking out the trash this morning. This was the first garbage pick-up since before Christmas and I was embarrassed by the number of bags that I piled up at the foot of my driveway.

Apparently we consume oil, gas, electricity, metals, plastics and produce waste at a level 32 times higher than in the developing world. So what happens when China, India and the rest of the world catch up to our runaway consumerism and grand life styles? Jared Diamond explores this issue in his op-ed contribution in the January 2nd edition of the New York Times.

One quote for your consideration, "China’s catching up alone would roughly double world consumption rates. Oil consumption would increase by 106 percent, for instance, and world metal consumption by 94 percent "

The Conservation Corps Newfoundland and Labrador's Climate Change Education Centre and the Newfoundland Science Centre have come together to bring one of the world's coolest climate change exhibits to Newfoundland! The exhibit will be housed at the premises of the Newfoundland Science Centre in downtown St. John's for four months and is expected to attract thousands of visitors of all ages. The Climate Change Show animated movie featuring narration by Newfoundland 's Rick Mercer will be used as part of this exhibit.

The Climate Change traveling exhibit allows visitors to learn about the climate history of North America , explore the impacts of climate change and test their knowledge of how shifts in climate affect daily life. For more information on the Exhibit, contact the Newfoundland Science Centre at 753-0823 or visit their website: www.nlsciencecentre.com

PRESERVING YOUR MEMORIES

On Wednesday night, my wife and I got into a conversation with some friends about organization and clutter in our lives. The bunch of us have a couple of young children, jobs and all the responsibilities that come with it. For example, these days if it passes the smell test, chances are it is going to get ironed. Clean clothing often makes it to the laundry basket but does not always find its way home to our dressers and closets.

This evolved into a conversation about photos, in particular manging the volumes of digital pictures that people take these days. I like to archive my pictures at least every three months. That means all photos are burned onto a couple of DVD's. I normally make a couple of copies and send at least one home to mom and dad for safe keeping. My friends were a little surprised to learn how regimented I am about this. It comes from a fear of losing important moments in my kids' lives. I lost some digitals from our wedding, not the official wedding pictures but all the fun stuff from the reception at the Bungalow, the pictures of my friends and us cutting loose. It bugs me to this day and I vowed to never allow it to happen again.

Yesterday my friend Nancy forwarded me this link to an article on CBC's webpage about archiving and saving your digital photos for future generations. I think it is a very timely and helpful discussion about keeping up with the challenges of changing technology and mass media.

AND IT'S OFF TO NEW HAMPSHIRE

In what pundits are calling a triumph for change over experience, Barack Obama claimed a big victory in the first caucus of the election year. Democratic front runner Hillary Clinton placed third, one point behind John Edwards.

There are a lot of opinions about the importance, or non-importance of the Iowa Caucus. It is the first to vote, there are only 40 delegates selected and it is very early in the campaign to say a trend is setting.

The Clinton campaign has to be a little deflated. Second place finish would have been much easier to accept than a momentum-sucking third place position. No doubt this will have some impact on the money trail. Obama and Clinton were in a statistical tie heading into next Tuesday's New Hampshire primary.

In reality, a win or loss in Iowa has never really been a huge indicator of who actually went on to win the party's nomination as the Presidential Candidate. It is simply an early barometer of what voters are looking for.

GREEN BULBS AND MIGRAINES

The Telegraph is running an interesting story today that claims that these new energy saving green light bulbs that will be compulsory soon cause migraine headaches. The Migraine Action Association in the UK alleges that the fluorescent bulbs have led to attacks of powerful headaches.

This comes as a bit of a vindication because I have been experiencing more headaches of late in my home. I was blaming it on the early evenings and short days.

My wife and I have been replacing our old bulbs with the new green bulbs, with the aim of having only energy efficient bulbs in our home. I have found that the bulbs in light sockets above the sinks in the kitchen, in the dining room and in the bathroom (library) just do not provide good lighting. Often as not, it seems I get a drowsy feeling that often leads to a headache if I spend too much time in those rooms.

The Lighting Association in the UK, which represents manufacturers, says the claims are rubbish, and that old fluorescent lamps may have created a flicker but the new technology is fine.

CAN'T TEACH AN OLD DOG A NEW TRICK

Santa granted my boys their Christmas wish and delivered a Nintendo Wii on Christmas morning. I am a bit of a computer gamer, preferring my mouse and keyboard to a game pad. A few years ago we bought an xbox and I quickly learned that I did not have the dexterity to be a console gamer. The Wii introduced a new controller altogether. It looks and feels like a remote control (there is another add-on called a numchuck) and uses motion control instead of a myriad of buttons.

The kids picked up on this new motion control very easily. Liam, Aidan and Conor are smashing tennis balls, batting baseballs and slicing the golf ball like pro’s.

I have been impressed with the ease with which many of our relatives, who never had an interest in video games, have adapted to these sports games. Liam golfed with his mother's god-mother after dinner on Saturday night and her husband had to literally drag her away. It is fun and addictive. Kris’s dad seems to enjoy the Wii as much as the boys do.

I just cannot pick it up, proof I suppose that you cannot teach an old dog a new trick. The sports games seem like fun but I am not confident that I will ever master these new controllers. It's back to my cave in the basement where the keyboard and wireless mouse are king.

THE DAY OF RECKONING

The rubber hits the road tonight in Iowa. Republican and Democratic machines are in "get out the vote" mode today as they scurry to deliver bodies to the first nomination selection process of the year.

Iowa is perceived to be a significant caucus because it is a litmus test for the candidates. A stumble for a front runner could be fatal while a surprise good showing can create momentum going into other primaries. The lifeblood of these campaigns is money. Momentum equals donations. Stagnation means benefactors back away.

The irony of all this focus on Iowa is that it is a rather small state. It has a population of 1.8 million and would be a footnote on the political relativity scale if were not the first caucus of the season.

The races are very tight this year in both the Republican and Democrat camps, so the outcome of tonight’s selection process will be very important going into New Hampshire next Friday and Michigan a week later.

Last time around only one in ten eligible voters made the effort to participate. The ground team will be the key to a successful show. With polls showing the frontrunners for both parties neck and neck, every vote will count. One report I read this morning said that a team of Clinton supporters were distributing shovels to supporters to clear sidewalks and make it easier for supporters to participate.

As Ed Hollett is so fond of saying, Fail to plan, plan to fail. May the best organized team win.

GASOLINE PRICES ARE UP

Record oil prices are reaching into our pockets straight away. VOCM is reporting that the Petroleum Pricing Office has hiked prices for home heating fuel and gasoline this morning. You will be paying an extra two cents a litre at the pump today.

Look forward to higher prices later in the month.

LET'S GET RID OF PARTY POLITICS II

Yvonne Jones was off to a good start but let's just say she kind of fumbled the ball with her utterances in yesterday's Telegram. In my previous post, I discussed why she might be tired of party politics but I have to disagree with doing away with the party system.

It seems more than passing strange that the leader of the Liberal Party would say there is very little difference between the parties and that we should consider getting rid of our current system of governance. If she wants to be the leader of her party she should show voters that there is a difference in approach, a difference in ideas between her party and the governing Progressive Conservatives. That is why she is paid a minister's salary, with a minister's staff. Liberals have to pay more attention to developing and discussing liberal policies. Politicians have no one to fault for this policy vacuum but themselves.

Yvonne's personal preferences become policy that is identified with the Liberal Party when she makes public utterances. Do Liberals wish to do away with the current democratic process in this province? Of course not!

The last time officials in this province called for the end of political parties was in 1933. William Warrender Mackenzie, Baron Amulree, Charles Alexander Magrath, and Sir William Ewen Stavert produced the Newfoundland Royal Commission Report.

Of course, Prime Minister Frederick Alderdice agreed with the recommendations and brought forth legislation requesting that our British masters suspend the constitution and implement the Royal Commission's recommendations.

Here are a few excerpts from that report: (They may sound a little familiar)

228. It should be appreciated, in the first place, that there is now no real distinction of principle between the political parties of Newfoundland. The names of Liberal, Conservative or Tory and Labour are in use but the division is rather one of persons. Secondly, the population of the Island is so small, and its financial resources are so restricted, that the choice of political candidates is severely limited.

568. The influence of these considerations has been such that good work has been placed at a discount. Impartial administration is difficult; and even where men may have endeavoured to do their best for the country in spite of the obstacles confronting them, they have too often found their recommendations set aside or ignored on account of political or denominational considerations. Persistence in a course of action likely to arouse the opposition of those who have friends at court would at best be foolhardy and at worst suicidal.

569. In the result, apart from very few individual exceptions, the Civil Servant is apt to be subservient to the politicians, is afraid of assuming responsibility for fear of offending them, has a tenure of office which is liable to be uncertain, and is generally lacking in efficiency.


And of course in the recommendation section:

3) It is essential, if this object is to be achieved, that the country should be given a rest from party politics for a period of years, and we have no hesitation in saying that, in the circumstances now prevailing in Newfoundland, the proposal that a system of "Commission by Government" should be established for a limited period affords the best means of enabling the Island to make a speedy and effective recovery from its present difficulties (paragraph 557).

P.S. We all have to find our legs, and a little stumble is going to happen from time to time.

A FLIP OF THE COIN AND A WISH

Supporters of Paul Antle are wondering where to turn now that their candidate for the Liberal nomination in St. John’s East has withdrawn his name from the race which is expected to be called very soon.

There are still at least two candidates in the race. Walter Noel is determined to take another shot at the job. This will be his third try for the nomination. He won the right to represent the party in the 2003 election but lost to Conservative Norman Doyle. He decided not to seek the nomination in the last election and Paul Antle bore the Liberal Party Of Canada standard. Noel has been a long time advocate of a more equitable equalization formula that would provide a better return on natural resources for this province. He also called on his own party to transfer the 8 ½% ownership of the Hibernia project over to the Province. Noel seems to fit the description of an ABC candidate.

The other person organizing for a run at the nomination is Debbie Hanlon. She is a dynamic and successful St. John’s businesswoman who seems to have boundless energy and a midas touch. She has an inspirational rags to riches story. Her enthusiasm is contagious. Despite her perceived lack of Liberal pedigree, she would make a good candidate, and the libs are still short on their slate of women candidates

She stated publicly at the power of passion conference in 2006 that she was a big fan of Premier Williams and how proud she was of him for standing up to Sir Paul McCarthy live on CNN in the great debate over the seal hunt. This should make her a pretty good ABC candidate as well.

Then there is the third option. What if Jack Harris could be persuaded to run federally for the New Democratic Party? Is that an option for Liberals and Progressive Conservatives in St. John’s East who want to park a true anti-Ottawa vote?

For me, it's heads or tails on the first two options, and I wish for the latter.

HEALTH MINISTER RESIGNS OVER SEX DVD

Catchy headline but fear not, it's not our Health Minister, it's Malaysia's!

Chua Sok Lek resigned today after admitting that he was the man in a highly circulated video that showed the married father of three having sex with a female friend in a hotel room.

He told reporters that his family has accepted his apology

This in a country that banned footage of women kissing one another in the Oscar nominated film, "The Hours" featuring Meryl Streep, Nicole Kidman and Juliane Moore.

$100 A BARREL OIL IS HERE

Light sweet crude oil broke $100 a barrel today! That is a record setting price for a barrel of oil. The jump is being blamed on OPEC's announcement that it may not be able to meet its share of global oil demand in the near future, and on the threat of a full civil war in Nigeria.

The Canadian dollar is up to $1.01 and gold prices are soaring as well. Gold closed the day today at $860.00 an ounce, breaking all previous records. (Of course with inflation the 1980 price would have given you more purchasing power.)

My decision to buy some gold a while ago is looking good like a wise investment. Gold company stocks jumped as well today. It is nice to to go to your safety deposit box and play with a few wafers of the precious metal, even more so when it grows in value.

That said booming oil prices are going to beat the crap out of my budget as we continue to heat our house with oil.

I wonder how much the provincial surplus is up to today? That 8.5% of Hibernia must really be paying dividends for uncle Ottawa these days.